Capri & Anacapri

Blog by Tony (Wednesday 14 August, 2019)

We decided to wake up when we wanted today…instead of to an alarm clock.  We have plans to visit Capri but nothing is booked and have decided to wing it when it comes to catching a ferry there and back.
So we had brekky at home and unsure where we were going…and with a little help from the locals…we managed to find a lift in the hill side that took us to the marina.  Kellie did very well considering her fear of lifts/elevators.

We were familiar of the marina from when we arrived so easily found our way to the ticket booth to purchase our ferry tickets across to Capri for the day.  It was good timing as our ferry was boarding when we got to the jetty for our 11am departure to the island.

We managed to find a window seat and enjoyed our ride across.  As the ramp lowered there was an instant feeling of positive energy and with tourists everywhere and the roads hectic with buses, cars, bikes and taxis.

We found our way to the end of the street where most of the people on foot were congregating which happened to be where to catch a taxi and bus.
Upon recommendations from Raffaele (our guide in Pompeii) we were wanting to head straight to the top of Capri which is known as Anacapri (‘ana’ being ancient Greek for ‘up’ or ‘above’).

Upon asking a local taxi driver standing next to his cab feeding his face on a kebab what the cost would be for  the 10min drive to Anacapri….with a mouth full of food  he replied ’30 euros’.  (if only the pigeons and seagulls had of been around at the time of his answer they would have had enough scrap kebab to feed them for a week)….
So thinking that the 30 euro was another way of the local cabbies ripping off us tourists we decided to go by way of bus and we purchased our tickets ‘return’ for just 8 euros.

BIG MISTAKE!!!

We stood in line waiting for our turn to board the bus…which seem to be every 5mins or so.  The buses were less than half the size of a bus back home due to the roads sharp corners that zig zagged up the mountain to the top.

When it was our turn to board is was then that we realised that this wasn’t going to be fun.  We were literally quickly ushered onto the bus with the bus driver yelling ‘move back….move back…’.  Just when we thought we couldn’t fit anymore people on the bus they squeezed another 3 people on.
Knowing Kellie’s fear of enclosed spaces I was glad that she managed to find a spot at the front of the bus near a window.  I was squashed in the middle of some guy that smelt like he’d just eaten a poo sandwich for lunch…  Struggling to hold onto the vertical rail with one hand and hold my backpack with the other whilst keeping my thumb in my pocket with my phone and wallet in it to protect against would be thieves….we managed to make it to the top.

With the midday sun and heat around the high 30’s…just like being under water for several minutes, as soon as the doors open we leapt out of the bus with a few big gasps for fresh air.  I said to Kellie that I didn’t care about the 30 euro…and that there was no way that we would be going through that again.

Relieved to be off the bus…we headed on our way to find another of Raffael’s recommendations which was to have lunch at his mates restaurant.  We walked through the narrow winding streets filled with tourists…lined with restaurants and small shops, we managed to find the restaurant.

It first appeared that the restaurant was closed as the front door was locked…but walking a few metres we came across an opened gate that led us down a path to an beautiful outdoor restaurant nestled in amongst a heap of lemon trees.

The waiter brought us our water and a menu…but seeing that most dishes were seafood…we decided to pay our 5 euro and head back the way we came to find a restaurant with a menu more suited to our tastes.
We found a nice little restaurant in one of the side streets that had a nice outdoor seating area with shade….and after a quick look at the menu we decided to eat there.

Kellie ordered a spaghetti with prawns dish and I went for the spaghetti carbonara dish.  We had the standard bottle of still water and traditional small basket of bread.  It wasn’t long before our dishes were brought out.  Although the dishes were nice the portion sizes were questionable.
Disappointed with this we paid our 32 euro and decided that we would go for a walk before heading back down to the marina to be ready for our boat ride back to Sorrento.

We were happy to come across a little pathway that was hidden among all the restaurants and their umbrellas…that lead to an area that had amazing views of the entire marina area and its surrounds.  We took a few happy snaps and took in the atmosphere before deciding to head back down to the marina.

Although I swore that I wouldn’t catch the bus back down the hill….Kellie convinced me as we were at the front of the line therefore had the choice of where we would sit…being the first ones to get on the bus.

BIG MISTAKE!!!

If only this was true…as the bus that pulled up was filled with passengers already.  So not to be shuffled down the back…Kellie made a beeline for a tiny spot in a corner at the front of the bus where I followed.  Thinking that we were WINNING…it was short lived as the bus had finished its run and pulled up at a stop not where we were wanting to go.
So we were all asked to get off the bus and had to find our way to the bus that was to take us the remainder of the way to the marina.  As you can imagine our moods by this time was had a gut full!  

We persisted and found the line to wait in for the next bus to the marina.  We entered the bus and the bus driver told us that our tickets were no good…we almost bit his head off telling him that the guy ushering us on the bus previously had tore them…and that we were told that we were going to Capri marina…which is not where we ended up.

With a bus load of people waiting I think he just gave up…threw both hands in the air…then shut the doors and started driving.  Yes…the bus was packed and Yes…it was stinking hot…but we were glad to know that we were heading in the right direction and that soon we would be off the cattle bus.
We arrive about 10mins later and as we had 30mins to wait we decided to find a seat and order some Gelato…to cool us down.  Whilst Kellie went to the loo…I checked the menu…and after asking the waiter whether they had some sorbet…that said for 3 scoops it would be 9 euro.  As I think they use teaspoons to do their scoops I decided to give it a miss…so when Kellie arrived back we left and found our line to wait in for our ferry back to Sorrento.

Upon boarding the ferry we made a mad dash to our window seats.  Relieved to be on the boat we couldn’t wait to head back to Sorrento.  In hindsight, should we have spent the 60 euro…there’s a good chance that this blog would be filled with more wonderful and pleasant things to say.
Anyways…glad to be back at Sorrento we quickly left the ferry and made our way back to the lift up the mountain.  We walked passed tiny beaches the size of a small backyard loaded with tourists of all ages and sizes in their bathers desperate for some sun and a swim.

There was a huge line waiting to catch one of the 2 small lifts that is lucky to fit 6 people in each.  We were relieved to see that our tickets that we bough for the lift still worked…and we waited until it was our time to take the lift up to the top.

There was a family in front of us…but they were too many so the man in charge gestured that if we had 2 people that we could squeeze on.  We backed onto the lift and made 3 attempts to press the button before the lift doors would remain closed.  I had a fair idea on what Kellie was feeling as she had that look on her face and was doing some deep meditating to make it all be over with.

After what seemed forever (just like our bus rides on Capri) the doors finally opened and we somersaulted out as quick as we could.  We saw a slushy stand and was happy to pay the 5 euro for 2 small cups of ice cold goodness!

We took our slushies over to a rail with some amazing views of the marina and enjoyed the fresh air and peace knowing that the day was behind us…and that we would soon be relaxing in our air-conditioned apartment.
I made Kellie a lettuce salad with feta cheese, tomatoes along with some heated crumbed chicken, cheese and bacon (from last night’s dinner)….and I had a left over piece of crumbed chicken breast whilst I made my salad with tuna.

With that in our bellies it was time to lay on our bed with my laptop and Kellie with her iPad….as we prepare for the remainder of our holiday.
After a quick Facetime to Kobie, Snugs and Luco we were soon counting Z’ssss….